Golf club



D. SPITTAL sow cum Aug. 14, 1928. 1,680,817

Filed Dec. 28, 19

IIIIIIIIIII U Q r; '5 as II III III INVENTDR nAvm SPITTA L ATTo Run Patented Aug. 14, 1928.

umrso STATES 1,680,817 Parser easier.

Dam an-run, or emery; BASIIL anmmecamm,

Applicationille lnecembergzs; 1827, Serial m ma; and in Canada August 11,, 1927.-

My invention relatesparticularly to golf clubs ofthe wooden type although it may be applied to the irons The invention has for I its object to provide a club which will" comt5v bine the good qualitiesof both the'steeland hickory shafts with, attendant elimination of torsion, while maintainingthespring of the wood shaft. A further object of my invention is to reestablish the ancient club-mak- 1 ing industry and I do this by producing: a golf club having an all-wood, hickory shaft sheathed with a. steel shaft from the sole of the club-head to a point slightly less than half the length of the club. Bothsteel and wood shaft portions are rigidly anchored at the sole of the head and are united at the upper end of the steel. In thisx'manner the steel portion of the shaft, which has heretofore been hollow or filled with a material relatively soft as compared with hickory, is completely filled by the tightly fitting hickory shaft within it, thus eliminating the vibration so common to steel shaft clubs, and therefore eliminating cracks and breakage in the head due to the vibration. In order to effect a positive joint between the hickory and steel at the upper end of the steel, I provide a copper sleeve or jacket for the upper end of the steel, thus reinforcing that end of the steel and with a through pin engaging both steel and hickory and, in effect, producing an integral hickory steel shaft.

Another feature of my invention has for its object to provide a perfect joint between the wood and steel shaft portions and render invisible the rivet for uniting them together.

For full comprehension, however, of my invention, reference must be had to the accompanying drawings in which similar reference characters indicate the same parts and wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a driver con structed according to my invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the jointed portion of the club drawn to a larger scale;

Figure 3 is a sectional View taken on line 33 Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a transverse horizontal sectional view taken on line 4-4 Figure 2; and

Figure 5 is a plan view of the sole of the club.

The head b of my club may be of any preferred construction, a driver, a brassie, a spoon, or an iron. I provide-a full length hickory shaft with the usual hand grip e.

Its steel shaft portion" 0 is set into the head through the neck (l ofthe head and rigidly secured in. place as by extending it through the head to, the sole where it is rigidly anchored; I preferto make the steel shaft portion slightly less: than one-half of the normal length of the club. so that the full spring of the hickory may be maintained. Lower portion 13 is. reduced in diameter equal to the interior diameter of and adapt ed to snugly fit within the usual tubular steel shaft, a portion of which, approximately one-half the length of the hickory shaft isused. 'Ih-isrcduced portion of the hickory shaft is continued' integrally throughout its length and with the steel shaft end is inserted through the neck d of the head to the sole g thereof; A wedge h locks'the ends of 't'l ie hickory shaft and through it the steel shaft in the head at the sole, In order toprevent" torsion and: vibration a rivet i locks the hickory shaft and steel shaft-portion together and: to the: head of the club at the neck of the head, thusefl'ectively preventing torsion between; the head and .the hickory shaft. and the steel shaft portion. Another copper rivet 16 locks the hickory shaft and steel shaft. portion together at the head of the steel shaft portion. The torsion and vibration usually apparent in all steel shafted golf clubs is most undesirable and spoils the work of the player, and also damages the club. To augment'this relief I provide a deepened shoulder 10 in the hickory shaft, the shoulder being equal in depth to the thickness of the metal of the steel shaft portion a and a short copper sleeve or jacket 15 enclosing and securely fastened to the upper end of the steel shaft portion. This copper sleeve or j acketis tapered downwardly from its outside to its inside as indicated in Figure 3 so as to cause the surfaces of the jacket and steel shaft portions to merge which owing to the sleeve being also of copper enables an invisible joint to be effected between the rivet ends of the jacket. This connection forms a joint between the steel and hickory which is sufliciently thick to effect a relatively wide bearing between the hickory shaft and steel shaft portion, thus solidifying and strengthening the entire shaft without detracting from the inherent spring in the hickory shaft. 1

In, consequence superior to those obtained with anyother club ever used by me. In the ordinary steel shaft clubs the disadvantage of vibrations is caused in the shaft by each stroke due to-the impact of the head of the club with the ball and torsion is produced in the same way in all clubs. This vibration, recognized as thehum by golf players is concentrated in and eventually produces cracks in the head of the club and the splitting and destruction of it which is supplemented by the torsional strains. This disadvantage is entirely overcome by tightly fitting the steel part of the shaft over the hickory shaft which extends continuously from the top of the handle to the sole of the head where they are permanently and solidly fastened' I I have found that a-golf club constructed according to my invention is free of torsion because of the factthat the hickory shaft is rigidly secured in the head of the club and fits, snugly within the steel shaft portion without play between them while the steel flingthrough the steel shaft and thehead to the sole of the head, means locking the ends of the steel and wood shafts to. the head at the sole and reinforcementmeans 'unitingthe top of the steel shaftportion to the hickory shaft. 65

2. A golf club such as claimed in claim 1, the. hickory shaft being reduced in diameter for a portion of its length and presenting a relatively wide shoulder and the steel shaft fitting snugly over the reduced portion of the hickory shaft and abutting against the shoulder, and a iacket enclosing and rigidly united to the top of thesteel shaft portion and abutting against the shoulder, and a rivet uniting the jacket and steel shaft to the hickory shaft and grip material wound upon the upper end of the hickory shaft.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

DAVID SPITTAL. 

